


I Am Still Amazed That You Came True

by spoowriterfic



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: F/F, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-03
Updated: 2019-07-03
Packaged: 2020-06-03 13:57:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19465423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spoowriterfic/pseuds/spoowriterfic
Summary: Set between the season 1 finale and the season 2 premiere, Nicole and Waverly have a moment together.Also known as: the one that explains how Waverly has a picture of Nicole in that purple dress on her nightstand even though in canon there was absolutely no time for them to stop and take one.





	I Am Still Amazed That You Came True

**Author's Note:**

> I've always been drawn to writing missing scenes -- to fill in bits and pieces and tie things together -- but somehow with this show, that's taken the form of "wait, someone on Tumblr pointed out Character Has Thing...how did Character *GET* thing???"
> 
> In this case, someone posted a picture showing that Waverly has a picture of Nicole in her dress from the season 1 finale. Then at some point that connected in my brain with me having read that Kat thinks Nicole really doesn't like wearing dresses (hence the pantsuit in the season 3 premiere).
> 
> I...don't really *mean* to keep using Jann Arden lyrics as story titles but...well...the title is from her song "Never Give Up On Me." Long ago and several sadly dead hard drives ago, I made a Xena video to that song that I posted to my own long-defunct website and nowhere else. Backups are important, folks.
> 
> Also, happy Day After We Won the Fight For Wynonna!

Two nights after Willa died, Nicole and Waverly finally found a few moments to be alone together. The Homestead was empty — Wynonna and Doc were on some kind of recon mission — and they were cuddled on the couch just watching the fire in the fireplace. Waverly was curled up carefully against Nicole’s uninjured side; her fingers were lightly but almost obsessively brushing, though the fabric of her shirt, the bandages that were still wrapped around her bruised ribs. She’d been lucky; she’d gotten out of the whole thing with just two hairline fractures. Even with a vest, it could have been much worse.

“So,” Waverly said out of the blue, “that purple dress.”

Nicole found herself caught between confusion and amusement and she stifled an awkward chuckle more because it would hurt than anything else. “ _That’s_ what you’re thinking about right now?”

“How could I _not_?” Waverly muttered. Then she looked up at her with those beautiful eyes, and immediately the levity faded because instead of amused, they were quiet, pained, and haunted. “If I think about Willa, I’m gonna cry. I mean, she was awful, but Wynonna’s heartbroken and she won’t let me _help_ and I don’t know what to do. So I’m trying to think about good stuff. And that dress was _good stuff_. And I – ”

Nicole cut her off with a quick, gentle kiss. “I’m sorry. What about the purple dress?” she asked, trying to break into Waverly’s train of thought before it ran away from her any further.

But Waverly didn’t say anything. Instead, she touched the hem of the unicorn t-shirt Nicole was wearing; she’d bought it as both an inside joke and a belated ‘sorry’ for their miscommunication before their moment in Nedley’s office. She pushed the fabric up just enough to see the bruise that extended beyond the ace bandages wrapped around her ribs and trailed shaking fingers against the bruised skin.

“Wave?”

Waverly seemed entranced by the bandages and the bruises, and Nicole knew that there were some wounds from the last few days that would be very slow to heal indeed. For both of them.

But at least she _knew_ now. She knew the weight Wynonna carried and how Waverly was doing her best to take on some of that load. She knew the burden that came with the name _Earp_.

At least now she could try to shoulder some of that burden herself, even if all she could do was keep the Earp sisters (or even just _one_ Earp sister) healthy and happy and ready to fight the fights.

Finally, Waverly glanced up and cleared her throat. “You…you don’t strike me as a dress girl. I mean, you looked wonderful but I never really pictured you in…a dress. I-I mean…I know we talked about you in a sexy black dress that one time, but the more I think about it, the more I realized that it just doesn’t…fit you.”

Oh.

That.

Nicole shrugged with carefully, deliberately affected nonchalance. “I’m not, really. I mean, I’ll wear one if I have to, but I don’t really like them. Until I got that one, I basically only owned the classic little black dress. And I think I’ve only worn _that_ maybe…twice?” Waverly’s face was impassive and Nicole felt a little, annoying, niggling tiny bit of self-doubt. So she began to stammer an explanation, “F-for one thing, I _hate_ nylons. I’m allergic, so they make my feet burn and – ”

“Then why did you wear one?”

Suddenly shy, Nicole found herself mumbling “Uh…” as she flailed for a way to explain not only that she’d worn that purple dress but that she’d gone out and bought it in the first place.

Waverly had an uncanny ability to turn her into a lovestruck teenager with just a look; it had surprised her at first, because she usually found it fairly easy to be suave, but she’d long ago decided a little awkwardness was more than worth it for something this special.

This important.

This life-changing.

“Nicole?”

Well, it sounded a little pathetic, but what the hell? “The last time I wore that little black dress was my high school graduation and I wanted to impress you?”

Waverly’s mouth opened, closed, opened, and closed again as she stared at Nicole in complete confusion. Nicole found herself just as flummoxed that the idea that someone would deliberately try to impress her would be so completely foreign to her.

Not for the first time, and she suspected not for the last, she cursed the subtle cruelty of Purgatory’s small-mindedness.

The silence lingered and began to feel uncomfortable. “Wave? I’m sorry if – ”

“Don’t you dare apologize.”

The words were firmer than was usual for Waverly, at least between them, but the tone was quiet and contemplative.

It was a little strange to find herself unsure of what Waverly was thinking; she’d always been fairly easy for Nicole to read. Tentatively, she asked, “Well, then what’s…wrong?”

“You know the one and only thing Champ ever did specifically to try to impress me?”

Startled at the apparent non sequitur, Nicole blinked at Waverly for a few seconds. “…can’t say I’ve given it much thought.”

“He took me to the gym to show me how much he can bench press.”

_Well_ , Nicole thought, _that’s…on brand._ She struggled to find something diplomatic to say aloud. “That’s – ”

But Waverly cut her off: “Not nearly as sweet and romantic as wearing something you don’t really like because you think I’ll like it.” Nicole stared at her, and Waverly grinned mischievously and added, “By the way? I’m pretty sure you can bench press more than he can.”

Despite herself, Nicole chuckled, but felt compelled to add, “Sorry I punched him.”

“I’m not.”

Now, that was a bit surprising; Waverly didn’t really talk about Champ much at all, but when she did, she was usually carefully neutral. “Well, it wasn’t really his fault…I mean, the champagne – ”

Waverly shrugged. “He was still threatening me. And I…I like it when you’re strong.”

“You…do?”

“Yeah,” Waverly admitted, a little shyly. The whole thing felt very much like the conversation they’d had in Nedley’s office – Waverly was feeling her way through her own thoughts with her words, so Nicole resolved to keep quiet and let her do so. “You’re not…you’re not…macho jock fake-strong like Champ. You’re… _actually_ strong. And you’re good. Strong and good together are…” She grinned, her nose crinkling gently. “…good.” Nicole smiled; it was impossible not to when faced with that look. “So, for the record, about the dress?”

“Yeah?”

Waverly’s grin morphed into a gentle, affectionate smile; her equilibrium restored, she stroked Nicole’s cheek before saying, “I didn’t start dating _any_ woman, Nicole. I’m dating _you_. I picked _you_. You told me you would never want me to be someone I’m not. Well, that goes for me too. If you don’t like wearing dresses, don’t feel like you have to wear one for me. You’re beautiful no matter what.”

Quite without meaning to, Nicole bit her lip and broke eye contact, feeling herself blush and go tongue-tied the way she had when she’d seen Waverly practically floating down the staircase in that blue dress.

Their eyes had locked and the world had faded away.

Waverly – _Waverly_ , of all people – had shaken her head like she couldn’t quite believe Nicole was hers.

Never in her wildest dreams – even during those long, long nights when she despaired of ever being anything more to Waverly than a friend – had she pictured Waverly looking at her like _that_.

“Y-you think so?”

Waverly’s eyebrows shot up at this unusual vulnerability. “You _don’t_?” she spluttered. “I mean…of course I do. You can’t actually…doubt that. Can you?” Nicole shrugged. “I…have you…” Her hands flailed a bit wildly. “…don’t you have…mirrors? Nicole, how could you _possibly_ …?”

There was a long pause, then Nicole looked back up into Waverly’s eyes. They’d fallen so naturally into their relationship after taking that first big step that they’d never really talked about basic things like this – obviously Waverly was attracted to her, but she was still very aware of the fact that she was the first woman Waverly had ever been with, and she really didn’t know how feminine – or not – Waverly was expecting her to be. “You’d really be okay with…?”

“I mean, don’t go around in a burlap sack like in that episode of _I Love Lucy_ we watched last week, but other than that….”

There was another long pause as Nicole digested that. “Really? I mean, if the next time I need formalwear, I wore…say…a pantsuit, that would be…?”

Waverly’s eyes immediately widened at the mental image. “That would be amazing,” she breathed. “God, yes, wear a pantsuit.” Her eyes widened even further. “With a tie. Do you have a tie? I’ll buy you a tie.”

Nicole couldn’t help but grin at that reaction. Then she remembered, a bit guiltily, Waverly’s tendency to put on a façade for the comfort of others. “You know the same goes for you…right?” She found herself more on solid ground here, as she reassured Waverly instead of the reverse. “Of course, you’d make that burlap sack look _amazing_.” Waverly laughed and gently slapped her shoulder. “I mean it, Waverly. You’re so beautiful.”

Waverly’s reaction wasn’t quite what she was expecting. Instead of looking charmed (or confused, as she did sometimes when complimented), she shook her head with a wry, surprisingly cynical smile. “What is it?” Nicole asked worriedly.

With a wince, Waverly lost the distracted look to her eyes, but it wasn’t an improvement as she blushed and looked down. “There’s no good way to…say this…but…it’s nice not to be eye candy?”

Nicole found herself speechless, her eyes widening in horror even as she fought to find something to say to –

But then Waverly cut her off with a quick, reassuring kiss to the cheek. “ _No_ , no, no. Not you. I – I, uh. That was the first thing I…noticed…about you. That you noticed me but – ”

“How could I not?”

“Says the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met.”

“Waves – ”

“Outside, and _definitely_ inside.”

“Waverly,” Nicole said sternly.

“Nicole,” Waverly said, echoing her tone before she smiled slightly and added, “Anyway, you noticed me…you appreciated me…but you never…objectified me.”

“I would _never_ ,” Nicole said, still shaken. “Never,” she added, repeating it like a vow.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Well,” Waverly said with a sigh, “you’re the first. Kind of ever.”

Nicole shook her head and couldn’t resist rolling her eyes. “See? Told you you’d been dating shitheads.”

Waverly laughed. “Okay, fair enough. But, um, will you do me one favor before you ditch the purple dress?”

She didn’t even have to think about it. “Anything.”

She surprised herself with how thoroughly she knew she meant that.

Waverly’s eyes flickered at that – in surprise, Nicole thought sadly – but she couldn’t bring herself to retract the statement, because it was one hundred percent true.

She would do anything for Waverly Earp.

Anything.

“Let me take a picture of you in it? With your hair down the way you had it that night and those earrings and that necklace and…. We got so busy, I never….” She shrugged, shyly breaking eye contact. “Just give me one picture and then you can burn it if you want.”

“Actually, there’s this charity you can donate formalwear to, and I – ”

Waverly cut her off with a kiss. “A picture? Please?”

Smiling, Nicole shook her head. “Okay. A picture. But…can it wait till I can raise my arms above my head?”

Waverly frowned, but with a twinkle in her eye nonetheless. “Oh, my poor baby,” she said, turning her attention back to the bandages with a much less pensive look. “Maybe I could kiss it and make it better?”

“It’s definitely worth a try.”

**Author's Note:**

> (Yes, you can be allergic to nylons. Also, there is nylon in about 95% of socks in the world. It makes buying socks...challenging.)
> 
> Also, one of my favorite things about Nicole is that she's this tough, competent, perfectly functional adult...who saw Waverly coming down the stairs and immediately went into blushing-teenager-with-a-crush mode. I've kind of decided that she pulled off "suave" in Shorty's that first time only because she was still in flirt-with-a-cute-girl mode, but the moment she actually fell for Waverly, she turned into the big puppy dog we're used to.


End file.
